This invention relates to an adhesive for bonding semiconductor chips to their attachment members (hereinafter referred to as the chip mounting component) and to semiconductor devices in which a semiconductor chip therein is bonded to its chip mounting component by said adhesive. More particularly, this invention relates to an adhesive that can bond a semiconductor chip to its chip mounting component across a constant gap of adequate size and that can provide a thorough relaxation of the mechanical stresses acting on said chip. The invention additionally relates to highly reliable semiconductor devices.
Within the sphere of adhesives for bonding semiconductor chips to their chip mounting components, Japanese Laid Open (Kokai or Unexamined) Patent Application Number Hei 7-14859 (14,859/1995) teaches an adhesive that characteristically contains at least 5 weight % insulating powder consisting of at least 1 selection from inorganic insulators such as glasses, metal nitrides, and metal oxides that have a particle size of 50 to 100 xcexcm. Japanese Laid Open (Kokai or Unexamined) Patent Application Number Hei 7-292343 (292,343/1995) teaches an adhesive comprising a platinum compound, spherical organic or inorganic filler having a particle size of 10 to 100 xcexcm and a major axis-to-minor axis ratio (hereinafter referred to as the aspect ratio) of 1.0 to 1.5, an organosilicon compound containing silicon-bonded alkoxy, organopolysiloxane containing at least 2 silicon-bonded hydrogen in each molecule, and organopolysiloxane containing at least 2 silicon-bonded alkenyl in each molecule.
The adhesives taught in Japanese Laid Open (Kokai or Unexamined) Patent Application Numbers Hei 7-14859 and Hei 7-292343, however, have problems. It is quite difficult with these adhesives to obtain a large gap or space between the semiconductor chip and its chip mounting component and the size of the gap ends up being nonuniform even when a large gap can be generated. These adhesives are also unable to thoroughly relax the mechanical stresses acting on the semiconductor chip.
The inventors achieved the present invention as a result of intensive investigations into the problems described above. In specific terms, an object of this invention is to provide an adhesive that can bond a semiconductor chip to its chip mounting component across a uniform gap of adequate size and that can thoroughly relax the mechanical stresses acting on the semiconductor chip. Another object of this invention is to provide highly reliable semiconductor devices.
The present invention is an adhesive composition intended for the bonding of semiconductor chips to their chip mounting components and comprises a curable polymer composition that contains spherical filler that has an average particle size from greater than 100 to 1,000 xcexcm and an aspect ratio of 1 to 1.5. Semiconductor devices according to this invention are characterized in that a semiconductor chip therein is bonded to the mounting component for said chip by the aforementioned adhesive.